>>Assuming this is true, how long a period (of uninterupted egg laying) do you feel is sufficient?

Queen producers often use small mating nuclei with just a cupful of bees.  As soon as eggs are noticed, queens are caged and shipped.

I believe queens should ideally ramp up on at least 3 full size frame covered with bees.  I think 1 month of uninterrupted egg laying may be sufficient to 'break them in.'  During the season one can observe that, in nucs where there are no extra free cells, the queens will continue to lay and deposit.  In extreme cases were there are very few bees, the queen will deposit multiple eggs in the cells.  This behavior goes away when the bee population increases to normal.

Virgins queens have a biological window of a couple of weeks when they need to mate or mating will not occur properly.  My thinking of a similar requirement for the egg laying break-in, is derived from what I think I have seen in raising queens.  I have no hard data or studies to support it.

Waldemar   


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